Do You Love Me?
by Eyes Turned Skyward
Summary: "You're leaving me, for an entire summer?" Tears threatened to spill over. "I can't help it. What's done is done." He stated simply. Rated M for later chapters.


**A/N: I know I haven't posted in years, and I apologize. I lost my ability to write during high school. Every time I had an idea for a story, I could never get past 100 words. My funk was terrible, and I let it out in a terrible way. I still stayed in the arts, but I dabbled in drawing. I really didn't have much time for artistic wants. High school was…tough.**

**However, I have graduated. My artistic writer's side has returned. I plan to take off _"Special Feelings for the Avenger." _I am very proud of the unofficial manuscript of this story, however. I hope you all enjoy this, even though I've been a terrible author. Updates will be sporadic, to keep suspense by readers.**

**Enough of my blabbering, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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A full moon spilled its silvery light on the bed of a sleeping teenage girl. The girl twisted and turned, as if she was having a nightmare. Sweat beaded on her brow and her face was tormented with discomfort.

.

_The girl was running through a forest. The wood was thick and obstructing. Vines and roots were strewn all over the ground and they hindered her progress. Gasping for breath, the teen dared to look over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of her pursuer. A dark figure was running behind her, steadily getting closer. It was so dark in the wood that the girl could see no details of her pursuer. Something in her dream told her that the figure was male, and that he was armed._

_Seeing a fallen tree in her path, the girl wildly looked around for a way past it. She could not climb it, as it was too large for her. The sides were worn down, but there were no footholds, so seeing the tree was despairing._

_Hearing her pursuer getting even closer, the girl started running the only path she could find, alongside the tree trunk. As hard as it was to see, the girl managed to avoid tripping over the random debris on the ground. A dreading feeling clung to her as something flew by her face. A knife. Her pursuer was within throwing range._

_Taking up a new pace, the girl ran even faster through the woods. She failed to use her caution as well as before, however, and her foot caught on a vine. She fell sideways into another large, fallen tree. The trunk had holes large enough for a small person in them, and the girl managed to fall into one. Scooting herself farther into the trunk and out of view, she waited for her pursuer to pass. She tried her hardest to control her breathing, but she feared it may have given her away._

_The dark figure jogged close to where she was located and retrieved his knife, surprising the girl that he could even see it. Rising with the knife in his hand, the man looked around trying to find his target._

_Hoping she could maneuver without being discovered, the girl scooted farther into the dark, hollow trunk. Her body moved against dry leaves that threatened to crunch and give her away. The girl's hand brushed against something that skittered away, and she suppressed a cry._

_By this time, the male started to search the surrounding area for signs of his target. He had noted the large tree, but he thought it too obvious of a hiding place. He made his way over to it, regardless, aiming for a successful find._

_The girl's heart was pounding in her chest. Her dream was telling her to wake up, right now, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not. She tried to formulate a plan, but her mind was blank with every step the man took towards her. She was going to die here, in a foreboding, dark forest. Once again, she clenched her fist and tried to wake up, but something caught her attention. A rapping sound, almost as if someone was knocking on something._

.

Focusing on the knocking, the girl woke up, her light pink hair tangled from all the twisting and turning she had accomplished. Realizing she was awake, the girl collected herself and thought about what she had just experienced. It was obvious it was a dream, but she had never had a dream that vivi-  
.

Knock.  
.

There it was! The knocking that had gotten her out of her nightmare! Glancing at her night-side table, she saw her clock and noted it was roughly 2 a.m. The knocking continued as she sat up and groaned. Slowly, as to not wake up her parents down the hall, the pinkette made her way over to her bedroom window. She suspected the knocking was coming from it anyways. As she neared it, a small acorn was seen hitting the window, and the sound that came from it matched the noises she heard earlier. Again, slowly, she opened the window and then the screen. A large tree had grown right next to her window, and that was where her visitor was sitting.

"Well it's about time you opened up," A male's voice could be heard in the crisp, clear night. It almost carried into the house, making the girl wince. She lifted herself to sit on the windowsill, looking as she did so. The voice had come from the tree, and the bright moonlight made it easy for the girl to see his face.

Pale skin shown as the moonlight hit it. Raven hair shadowed part of his face and onyx eyes stared at her, as if they could see every detail inside of her. He was wearing black, so he would not be detected when he came for his visit. The girl shivered as a slight breeze blew by and she wrapped he arms around her thin nightgown she was wearing. A blush started to creep onto her face as she realized what could happen.

"Itachi, what are you doing here this early in the morning?" Sakura whispered. She tried to keep her voice soft.

"I can't come and see my little flower anytime I want?" Amusement rang in his whisper. The pinkette shook her head, making Itachi chuckle. "Well, I wanted to see you regardless."

Sakura just stared, dumbfounded at his response. Despite all the questions and feelings rising in her head, she slowly nodded and got off the windowsill to invite him in. This was not the first time Itachi had ever come to see her in the middle of the night, but she was shocked every time it happened.

"So what are you here for, exactly?" Sakura asked, sitting on the bed. She motioned for Itachi to do the same.

"Well, I thought you should be the first to know. I'm leaving to attend a summer program. It's for people who are interested in joining the police," Itachi explained, his gaze never wavering from Sakura's face as the words reached her ears. Her eyes got wider and her shocked expression was very evident on her face.

"You never told me you wanted to join the police," Sakura said slowly, keeping her voice in check, "When are you leaving?"

"Three days. When I tell my family, they'll be ecstatic. I want you to see me off at the airport when I leave," the male hesitated, and then added, "I'm going to be gone for three months. I'm looking forward to seeing you again before you have to move in for college, Sakura."

With that, he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. Swiftly and silently, he got up from his sitting place and moved towards the window. So many thoughts rushed through Sakura's head; she was overwhelmed and made no move to stop him from leaving. She broke out of her reverie when she saw Itachi halfway out the window.

"Please don't go, not yet. You've told me such a little amount. Three days, Itachi? Why did you decide to tell me now? When did you find out about this? Where is it? What will you be doing?" the pinkette strained to keep her voice at no more than a whisper. With so many questions, she was sure he would not answer them all. Itachi shifted on the windowsill to be more comfortable.

"Well, I was told about this program when I went to sign up for the Reserves a couple of weeks ago. They asked me if I had any prior training, and if I was serious about what I was signing up for. I told them that it sounded interesting, to protect the ones you love," Itachi paused for a second, and glanced in Sakura's direction.

"But why tell me now?" Sakura questioned, pink eyebrows raised and suspicious.

"I said I was serious about what I was signing up for," continued Itachi, as if Sakura had never spoken, "and they told me about this program that could help prepare me for a little of what was coming. I never said anything because I didn't want you to try and make me stay," This earned him a glare from bright green eyes, but he ignored it. "I knew you would try to stop me, so I waited. However, at home, preparations were already being made. I am sorry that I didn't tell you, but I figured it was for the best."

A scowl marred Sakura's features, "Oh, so in not telling me, you also never asked me if there was anything 'we' wanted to do before you left!" Her face fell, and her eyes threatened to overflow with hot tears, "I had a whole summer planned out, and now I won't be able to get any of it done. Not without someone to do it with."

"You have your friends from high school. I bet they would want to see you again," Itachi encouraged, trying to bring up the mood a little.

"Yeah, no. Most of them are on vacation, like you will be. Most aren't even in the country right now, let alone the area. Now I'll have to re-schedule my _entire_ summer," Sakura got off the bed and trudged towards him, "What am I going to do?"

"Again, I'm sorry. Plans have already been made and my things are mostly packed. I can't change my mind, not now. Please come with my family to the airport to see me off, though? My family can drive you to and from, if you need it," Itachi looked at her with a solid gaze. If he was sad, he did not show it.

"I'll think about it. Will you have your cell phone at camp? Can I call you?" Hope flared within Sakura. It was _one_ way to keep in touch with him.

Itachi shook his head, "No electronics of any kind. Since it will be somewhat like boot camp, they do not want any distractions for the trainees. From what I understand, though, letters will be able to be sent back and forth to family…" he pondered the thought. The only downside to letters were they took a couple of days to receive.

Dismay marred the pinkette's features. At that very moment, she wished she could push Itachi out the window. She held herself in check, and put on a happier, fake face, "Well, I guess I'll see you later then," She said in a small whisper.

"Good night, love you," was the quiet response as his voice slipped back into the cool night. Again, Sakura stood dumbstruck, not quite believing what had just happened between them. He had said he _loved_ her. From all the memory she could recall, he had _never_ said that, _ever_. '_Love you,_' Sakura thought, '_If he loved me, he wouldn't leave me for an entire summer!_'

Sakura slipped over to the window and closed it, returning it to its proper position. Climbing back into bed, and silently fuming, Sakura pondered how long it would take for her friends to get home. '_Too long_' she thought, '_by then, the summer will be over._' Re-playing her encounter with Itachi over and over again, she soon fell asleep.

.

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A/N: I'm am so sorry for this chapter's length! I had wished for it to be around 3,500 words, but it only turned out to be around 2,000. I had to add a monster amount of dialogue while typing this to make it longer. If it doesn't make sense, I apologize.

Paraphrase of the entire chapter: Itachi and Sakura and boyfriend/girlfriend. Sakura just graduated high school and is planning on heading to college in the fall. Itachi comes and tells her he is leaving for the summer, and Sakura is furious because she will be all alone now.

And that's chapter one. Please review and tell me what you thought! Feedback is HIGHLY appreciated!

I also apologize for ANY grammatical errors!


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